Interregnum Episode 1: Turmoil in the Heartland Written By: TheHumanFloyd (1) NARRATOR: The Interregnum. A time of such chaos and ignorance that almost no records of it remain. What precious little knowledge we have of this time is closely guarded. (2) The journals before you were discovered in a Dwemer ruin in the land of High Rock, left within a chest guarded by a complex lock. Though their legitimacy cannot be confirmed they could be one of our only connections to this tumultuous time period in Tamriel's history. The mystery of how these documents came to be hidden away together in the ruins beneath Glenumbra may never be solved, but perhaps they will offer us a glimpse into the perilous lives of those unfortunate souls who lived during the dark age, during the Interregnum. (1) FLONIUS (NARRATING): 9th of Frostfall 2E 582 (2) My name is Flonius Oaken-Hull, and today is my birthday. I was born on the ninth of Frostfall, 2E 555 under the sign of the Shadow. My father is a Colovian, a descendant of the Nords of Skyrim. He moved to the Imperial city when he was a boy. There he met my mother, a young girl raised by Reachmen, whose savage people had conquered Cyrodiil early in the sixth century. My father essentially bought her from her cruel, backwards parents and married her. (3) Years ago, when Varen Aquilarious retook Cyrodiil and ended the Longhouse dynasty, we thought we would have peace. But here I am, sitting on the frozen ground as I scribble in this journal, a conscript of the Imperial army. Foreign invaders from every country on Tamriel close in on us, dissidents from within our own homeland raise their arms against their brothers and sisters... and I don't even know if I'm fighting on the right side. (4) At least we're not hungry. Our troop marched into a small village in the Applewatch Wood earlier today. We took as much food and water as we could, leaving them almost completely empty-handed. They didn't resist, which is why they still live. (5) I write this journal in hopes that one day, someone will find it and know the horrors of this time. Maybe this person of the future can forgive the Empire of its sins, because I don't think anyone in this era will. I don't know if I can even forgive myself for marching alongside Daedra and necromancers... but what am I to do? Run? Join the rebellion? I'd be dead like the rest of them. (6) When I was a teenager I wanted nothing more than to join the noble Fighter's Guild. The though of rescuing helpless maidens and slaying goblins drew me to spend many hours at the local chapter, watching and learning. Occasionally, the Fighters would even let me join in their sparring. But when the Soulburst happened and Mannimarco came to take control of the Empireso many guilds fled from Cryodiil. Including the Fighter's. If I wasn't bound to my duty to the Legion perhaps I could go to one of the lands of the Three Banners and join the Fighter's Guild there. (7) We've all heard the rumors that the Mages and Fighter's Guilds have marched into Coldharbour to take the fight to Molag Bal himself. But is such a thing even possible? How does one transcend this realm into the darkness of Oblivion? Is there even air to breath there? I've heard the whispers throughout the camp. Some are even hopeful. If the guilds can defeat Molag Bal then we will certainly be free from Oblivion's domination over our beloved Empire... won't we? (8) 10th of Frostfall 2E 582 (9) We've been camped for a day and a half. The Jerrall Mountains loom above us. Snow covers the ground and icy winds bite at our faces and threaten to steal away our fingers and toes. But the guest who has entered our camp chills my bones far more than any cold breath from Kynareth. (10) Our commander must have known they were coming, but he didn't bother to warn us. They arrived early in the morning, completely silent despite the hard, crunchy snow all around us. I was returning from a patrol when I saw them just outsid